Digging into Media Messages

Reading numerous articles regarding rising crime in Dover involving both violent crime and non-violent crime, helped to paint a clearer picture of all teachers have the opportunity to educate their students about. More specifically in Dover, they struggle with gun violence, bullying, and drugs. Within their community, students at a young age are surround with an array of bad influences such as violence and drugs. As a health education teacher I am provided with the obligation to educate them about the importance of avoiding bullying, drugs, and violence as well as severe consequences that can happen when one decides to participate in such activity. One article discussed the growing problem of bullying, which was the cause of a six-person fight on the school bus. They ranged from 15-16 years old. In the article it states, “Morris Hill School officials were notified of the situation to speak with the families.” Although most of the information being given is from the Safety Director of Dover and the Police Officer, I believe it was important to address the problem to the school officials. The school officials, as well as myself being a health and physical education teacher have the opportunity of addressing the culture of bullying, the zero tolerance policy, and the serious consequences that come a long with bullying. (http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2012/10/ongoing_bullying_caused_school.htm) Two other teenagers were involved in a form of bullying by arming themselves with imitation pistols and leaving a homemade bomb outside a classmates home. This was all in respond to an argument the two had. (http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2012/08/dover_police_arrest_juveniles.html) In Dover, Taxis are a common source of transportation for teens as well as adults. One article discusses an incident involving four teens that robbed a taxi driver for his I-phone, and then beat him. The sergeant involved with the arrested stated, “"This arrest shows the importance the community plays in crime-fighting efforts and
 we thank them for getting involved," Residents within the community helped the police officers at the time of the crime because the teens fled the scene by running from the cops. The residents were the ones who told the police which way the teens were running, which ultimately led them to catch the teens. This was important to share with the public, because it not only showed the effort the police are making to provide for a safe community, but it also showed the importance of the community working together to achieve a safer community for everybody. (http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2012/08/cops_four_teens_beat_robbed_ta.html) The last article I read was regarding the rising problem with drugs in Dover. Most recently 13 people were arrested in a drug raid, which was only 500 Feet from the Second Street Playground in Dover. This is highly concerning regarding the students we will be teaching, because the playgrounds they should have the opportunity to be playing on and building their locomoter skills are being used as a meeting spot for exchanging drugs. According to this article, in Dover, non-violent crime has raised 14 percent. This article is important, because it points out that they are making an effort to crack down on drugs. As teachers, we have the opportunity to educate our students of the importance of staying away from drugs. The detective states, “Increased community involvement, more tips to police and a better partnership between patrols and citizens is helping the community.” It is important the community is working together and being involved to make their town a better place. But as a health and physical education teacher I also will have the opportunity to help build a safer community by educating my students and giving them a good foundation and knowledge of staying away from drugs and violence. This way they are able to go out into their community and help to promote for a safer environment. (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/dover_police_ramp_up_effort_to.html)

NJ Disabilities Film Festival - 'The Importance of Tying Your Own Shoes'

As teachers we need to be patient, curious and have awareness of what our students say and do. The film ‘The Importance of Tying Your Own Shoes’ is a perfect portrayal of the importance of getting to know your students. Alex gets a job to be the leader of a group of people with disabilities, and although he appreciates every one of them, he never gets to know them the way a teacher should and therefore runs into many problems along the way. The first time Alex encounters trouble is when they go for a walk, and one of his students with Down syndrome climbs up the sculpture and is unable to get down. He did not think this was such a big deal at the time, but then he was approached that the student had a heart condition and he can’t let him do that again. That same student and Alex encountered another problem when the students are playing soccer outside, he kicks the ball to the student with Down syndrome and it hits him right in the face. There are many implications to be aware of when teaching a student with Down syndrome, that if Alex were aware of he may have approached the situations differently. Firstly, people with Down syndrome many times have heart and lung problems. Their blood is not effectively pumped through their heart so they fatigue easily. They also have less aveoli in their lungs, so they can’t take in oxygen, which causes them to have asthma. People with Down syndrome also many times have vision problems, so this is why the student had trouble seeing the ball when it came close to his face. The next problem Alex encounters is he takes them for a bus ride and forgets to do the seatbelt check, so none of the students have their seat belts on. Throughout the movie it was obvious that Leif suffered from what I thought to be anxiety. You see this occur when he was cutting the wood outside, and also when they get on stage to perform Leif stops and is unable to continue. This problem, which seemed very serious never seemed to be addressed by the teacher. Having some knowledge of the implications of teaching students with Down syndrome, I noticed when Alex goes to Kristina’s house to talk to her; he places himself at eye level. Because people with Down syndrome are usually much shorter, it is important when talking to them to put yourself at eye level, this way they don’t always have to look up. This is something Alex was aware of when talking to Kristina. Although Alex really cared about every one of his students, it is important to get to know your students along with certain implications to be aware of when it comes to safety concerns which is something Alex never did.

Reflecting on Race

The other day I opened my Twitter only to find a promoted tweet from the movement “my-black-is-beautiful.” I couldn’t help to think, what if the promoted tweet had read, “my-white-is-beautiful.” I clicked on the tweet to get more information regarding the movement. Pictures were posted saying “black girls rock.” I then went to their website to see what the promoted tweet was in support of and it stated “community of black women and everything that makes them beautiful.” I applaud the organization for celebrating their beauty; however, I also feel like if pictures were posted saying “white girls rock,” they would be seen as more controversial. People responded to the promoted tweet, which confirmed that I was not the only one having these thoughts. One response read, “I challenge a white woman to start a page called ‘my-white-is-beautiful’ I doubt it will be received as well”. Another user said, “A group known as ‘my-white-is-beautiful’ would be deemed a hate group and exiled from society, while ‘my-black-is-beautiful’ is promoted on my feed. I come from a large and diverse family. I have an adopted African American cousin, as well as an adopted cousin from China. Many of my cousins and my sister married from another ethnicity. I don’t deny the fact the racism still exists today, but in my eyes race was never a factor in judging somebody’s character. Racism exists today, but I believe it exists among ‘all’ the races. I think any person is capable of being racist, it is not just specifically ‘one race’ that is racist. It is important as teachers to know that racism exists. It is also important for teachers to be able to identify racism as well, because students may encounter racism among their peers. Many times our views on racism are passed down from generation to generation, so students can vary depending on how they were brought up. It is important to be aware of all these factors so we can identify racism, as well as make a conscience effort in trying to end it in our society.