Teaching ASL in Elementary School EU190

Hello class,

late update on our ASL project. We finally made to St. Elizabeth Elementary, shot and edited this short piece with these lovely kids. Sharing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOcwLOda66k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shlc9uNF1lQ


Happy Holidays,
Lynn

ED190 Fall 10 Retreat Photos--287 pics

Hello Class,

Sorry being late posted; check it out!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/117927974584563712672/ED190RetreatFall10?authkey=Gv1sRgCMP6-KHVmIfXdA#

Have a great holiday and keep studying hard : p

Best,
Lynn

Tim Wise-The Pathology of White Privilege

Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ8xQPdjJfM&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlqLijhxT_M&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQWP7fUSPJU&feature=related
Part 4:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o13Lr6Sr_cU&feature=related
Part 5:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VuA_wXi02I&feature=related
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRo_jYssnXQ&feature=related

its kinda long but its definately worth it

Limits to creativity outside of the school

During our class' final presentations, I noticed how a lot of us, including myself, have emphasized the importance of creativity in the classroom--creativity and freedom in expression, in thought, and in dialogue. Some students were able to utilize the creative-promoting space of our final to share their final projects with the class, such as through the band performance, Shiva's poem, and Jamie's music list. However, even if some chose to write the traditional paper for their final, those papers were not very limiting. Instead, we were encouraged to build connections between what we've learned in class and what we hoped to learn more about; there was creativity in connection and in dialogue within our writing.

In one of my Media Studies courses, we cover the rights to creativity. In the following video, Lawrence Lessig makes an argument for the future generations and their claims over creativity and expression via the Internet http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html#

So if not in the school, then where do we find our spaces for creativity and expression, and in what ways can we utilize these spaces?

Good luck with finals and in performing for the test, but please never forget to think outside of, to test, to try, to deconstruct, and to redesign the limits and parameters that these tests and assignments create for us. 

--Steph

Divergent Educational Resistance

-Shiva Patel's Final

Clips

A short statement about "race science" in the historical point:

Generally speaking, people look different. Throughout history, physical similarities within groups have been a source of community and personal identity. At the same time, they have also been served as the basis for racial formation and categorization. While physical differences are interpreted through social and cultural frameworks, scientific understanding of race and human variation has complicated perspectives of what race is and what it is not.

Despite the certainty with which these historical studies made their pronouncements, race has remained not only a leading concept within a variety of disciplines, but also a continuing object of scientific investigation and argument. It is not hard to find proof of heated debates on the topic among experts from various scientific backgrounds, such as anthropologists, physicians, geneticists, and psychiatrists. The purpose of this research project is to trace the origins of a scientific concept of race and to interrogate its transformations and applications over time. The sources selected will highlight the multiple, and quite ambiguous, definitions of race, gender, sexuality, and human inequality provided by race science; they will also draw attention to the correlation of the concept to the idea of species, linguistic group, nation, and civilization.

Here are the clips shown during the final:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM-MVdX7sQw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UZS8Wb4S5k&feature=related

Thanksgiving Day

Hello everybody :)

I know it is kind of late, but I wanted to share with you something that happened on Thanksgiving Day.
Ok, so I woke up like at noon (yeah I do this often) dragged myself to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich (yeah I did brush my teeth first).  I totally had forgotten it was Thanksgiving Day.  I couldn't go home this year because it is too expensive.  I got a text from one of my friends and he invited my over to his house to eat dinner. His mama cooks real good.  Anyways, he lives all the way in San Rafael, so to get to his house in public transportation, in a holiday, took me 2 hours.

I was in the BART station in downtown Berkeley waiting and texting (yeah I get reception there).  Then there is an announcement that pets are not allowed in the BART unless they are in a leash, a cage, and/or are to help differently able people.  An old middle-aged man says to me, "If I have a pet, I am gonna take him whenever I want and in the BART." I said to him, "Yeah, ok." Then he continued, "Yeah, kids are worse anyways, all that crying, all that loud talking, eghh." I shared with him, "Oh yeah! I know! I don't like to hear kids crying and throwing fits in the BART. It is sad to hear them cry and a little bit annoying too." We both laughed.

- He then showed me bag and said, "I got a new sweater today"
- I said, "Cool, where you get it at?"
- "My friend gave it to me as a gift for Thanksgiving."
- "Oh ok. Your friend is nice."
- "Happy Thanksgiving. You going to eat with your family?"
- "Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving too. Naw, I am going to a friend's house.  His mom and him invited me to dinner. Have a good day."

Long pause.

- "I don't know what I am going to eat."
- I did not know what to reply to that.
- He quickly continued, "I am going to Oakland to find a place to stay there. I usually stay in Berkeley around the Library [the public library] but I try not to be around there when the kids are out of school." Sights and looks away.
- "Why?" His response to this was intense and opened my eyes to how homefree people are mistreated in the streets.  I did not know it was this bad.  Once in San Francisco, I defended a homefree guy from some girls that were yelling at him and being rude, but this particular man has suffered more disrespect.
- He goes, "Because there is no respect anymore.  I have gotten spit on 9 times.  And you know by who? All 9 times by middle-aged and young white women. They are just so mean to me.  Once this girl was with her parents.  I picked up a penny that fell when she was putting change in the meter and she told me, 'Give it back!!! give it back!!!' and then she spit on me. All for a stupid penny that doesn't even go in the meter! And the kids. Those kids are bullies. All of them, but the black ones bully me the most.  I try not to be out around here before school, during their lunch, and after school. When I am walking on the sidewalk and they are coming towards me, they push me. I move a side a little bit but they don't even move.  They take all the sidewalk space and even for wheelchair people they don't move.  They trip me when walking down the sidewalk. They punch me and yell at me." Inhales and exhales, and continues, "Anyways all the kids these days are so disrespectful. And they are the future? Thanks God I am old!"

I put all this in quotes because immediately after our conversation I typed it on my phone.

I said to him, "Sorry about this.  Nobody should experience such disrespect.  If that child was mine, the one that spit on you, I would of slapped her hard."

He smiled

I asked him, "Are you going to be ok today?"
He said, "Yeah, I have done this before.  I have gone without eating for 4 days straight. I will be fine."
I said, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
He responded, "Like what?"
"Well is it ok if I give you money for dinner?"
"Sure! I would like that."
I gave him some money and he gave me hug. We both got in the BART and continued talking.

We continued talking until he got out the train.  He graduated from Berkeley in the 60's (I did not record this. If I remember correctly though it was around this time).  He lost his home due to a foreclosure.  His dog died.  He walks around Berkeley with all his stuff, a backpack and the clothes he is wearing.  He just wishes that kids were raised better.  He said that he respects people and wishes people would respect him too.  He said that everything is messed up, "Kids raising kids and the economy is all bad."

I am thankful I met him and gained so much perspective from him.

- Yeriko S.

Have a good week everybody!

Ed190 Fall2010 retreat pics

Hello Class,

Here are the pic taken during our retreat!

I'll be uploading more after my finals, so keep checking back the blog link for updates =)

http://picasaweb.google.com/117927974584563712672/Ed190Fall2010RetreatPics?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6Csfn-r8faXg#

Interesting Article about CA's school funding

A study done at Pepperdine University claimed that CA schools spend sufficiently on schools yet don't get good results. This article shows the Pepperdine study is not accurate:

http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2010/101201_SFF_Pepperdine_Study.pdf

This info may be important to know if research or policy in the future cites the Pepperdine study as legitimate research.

A short mix from previous ED190 class

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJOsZIq0mA&feature=related

About diversity and Berkeley

Cheers,
Lynn

Coop: American Sign Language Video

ASL ED190 coop group  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPMpsgZU6wU

Hello,

Check out our video on youtube and learn some sign language!!

Alphabet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMQHd1UBkeI

Counting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGHLvfw4bvg

Cheers,
Lynn