Raising Awarenessin a Unique Way--Vagina Monologues

I atteneded the Vagina Monologues for the second time this year and I love it. I think these monologues are a greaty way for women to come together, along with men, and discuss issues that are, for the most part, not discussed. The Vagina Monolgoues does a great job of incorporating humor, as well as the sad but true facts about violence against women--rape, battery, incest, sexual slavery and female mutilation. These monolgoues empower women, telling them they are beautiful, normal, in power, and have control over their bodies. I wish more people were aware of the distrurbing statistics and attended the Vagina Monologues to become aware.

The Vagina Monologues is a great way to educate people in a unique way, yet I do not believe it is age appropriate for the majority of students, even in high schools. At best, seniors may be mature enough to watch a show like this. With that being said, it is a great way to educate college students and raise awareness. Although the Vagina Monologues may not be appropriate for education, I once again thought about the issue of Americans not knowing what is going on in other countries. It is true that rape, battery, and violence against women does take place in America, but the female mutilation, sexual slavery and mass cases of abuse generally take place in other countries. I find it amazing that I live my life here in America and until a few years ago was unaware of the conditions many people live in. Once again, I do not think it is appropriate to teach students the in-depth statistics about violence aginst women, but I do think education about the world needs to become a part of the curriculum in public schools. This is the only way we can educate our students enough that they become passionate about making a difference. Americans supposedly hold the most power in the world, so shouldn't we also be creating citizens that take that power and make a positive difference in situations such as violence against women, poverty, global warming and other issues our world faces today. I think it is the schools' role to teach students that everyone in this world is important and we cannot have an elitist view of ourselves. Many in America are simply not aware of issues in other parts of the world, or even worse, do not care because it does not affect them. We as educators need to change this view and make our students conscious of the world around them.

Sex Education--What else needs to happen before we begin to teach it??

Teen pregnancy in high school has become especially disturbing to me since I have been in high school. In my four years, I would say at least twenty girls were pregnant at some point, some even having their second child before they graduate! Some may think that all of these girls were the stereotype of teen pregnancy, the students who are uninvolved in school and seem to have something else that is more worth their time. This wasn't the case. Some of the pregnant teens were my friends, cheerleaders, and good students. I also know that this is a problem in many school systems. The reason this issue distrubs me so much is because in my high school we really didn't have any sex education. For maybe two days we covered the basics, but really I would not say it went in depth enough to address the seriousness of the issue. Because of this I believe sex education should become apart of high school curriculum.

Our society these days is exposed to sex all the time, and kids are being exposed to more and more at a younger age. Many get the idea from shows and movie that sex is not a big deal, and for many, this may be where they get a lot of their ideas about sex. I think schools need to take control. I believe sex education should be taught in high schools, requiring students to have some form of it each year so they don't forget about it. I also think the education needs to be realistic. I do not think it would be helpful to teach abstinence as the only solution. I think this should be discussed, yet solutions such as birth control, condoms and other prevention methods need to be taught. Also, I think situations that many young teenagers may think they cannot get pregnant from must be discussed. Many students are simply ignorant, and ignorance about the issue of sex can lead to life changing consequences. Overall, I think sex education needs to be implemented in all schools as a serious subject to be taught. It affects so many lives and I think if students were educated better on the issues surrounding it, a lot of unwanted pregnancies can be prevented.

Black History Month

I attended the first speaker at the Black History Month Conference, Sehree Renee Thomas. Overall I thought she was a decent speaker, yet the majority of her speech was read off of her paper. Because she was reading off of a paper she spoke very quickly and at time I had a difficult time following. With that aside, her speech was about science fiction writing and black authors, and it was very apparant she is passionate about this topic. I was not particularly interested in this topic, but some of her points about the stereotypes of black authors and their influence in the science fiction genre were interesting. For example, many are surprised if a black author wants to write about anything other than race, or issue surrounding race. She discussed how publishers influence this too, such as when a black author writes about gardening they publish it to market a black audience, and she states that its not their fault but the reality of our society. Overall, Thomas had many good points regarding her passion about writing and getting the chance to tell her story about African Americans.

I believe conferences like this are a great opportunity of getting an education at Luther. Conferences like this open eyes to issues that matter in our society, culture, and world, yet issues that we here at Luther may not be directly exposed to. I believe hearing about other peoples' stories and views is a great way to find out your own opinions and beliefs, and maybe even find a new passion that will enable you to make a difference. Although at lower education levels conferences such as those held at Luther usually do not take place, I think it is important to introduce topics that involve diverse issues such as race into education so our students can become aware of them. I believe it is important for students to be well-rounded and being exposed to new topics is a great way for this to happen.

Freedom Writers

The movie Freedom Writers was very inspiring to me. I feel the film was put together exceptionally well, making it seem very personal, giving enough background on each character, and showing what life was like for the students the story was based on. The main teacher in the movie was an amazing character. Her determination to create successful students out of the students everyone else gave up on was incredible. Movie like this should inspire all educators to go beyond the expected, which would create a public education system that would produce able and successful students, and then the need for standards such as No Child Left Behind would be unnecessary.

I think the movie Freedom Writers should be a guide for teachers. If all teachers had the determination and willingness to work as hard as the teacher in Freedom Writers, many would probably be amazed at the progress their student could make. I was surprised at some of the attitudes of colleagues in the school, such as the male teacher who taught honors courses and continued to try to hold back Hilary Swank's characters efforts. His attitude towards the students was horrible, and it is sad to think that there are educators that think like him in the public system. There are educators that do have low expectation of their students and basically give up hope, in turn making the students lose hope and confidence in themselves. Freedom Writers is a perfect example that all students are capable of succeeding, and sometimes, the only thing they need is someone to believe in them, care for them, and help give them the extra push they need to realize they are good students.

Why do we teach and what makes a good teacher?

I believe when we teach we are trying to accomplish many things. We are trying to create intelligent, adjusted, and well-rounded individuals that are ready to be a part of society and make a difference in the world. I think we guide students to find out who they are and what their interests and strengths are. I think through teaching we are trying to improve society and life. A good teacher is someone who can accomplish these things. A good teacher is someone who is able to get the kids interested and excited about learning while improving their skills. A good teacher is caring and open to suggestions, but knows what they want their students to accomplish. A good teacher is someone who can guide students through their education and help students become the leader of their education.