Freedom Writers

The three main concepts that I would say I saw in the movie Freedom Writers would be world view, othering, and racism. I thought this showed all of these things we had talked about in class.

            It showed world view I thought because all of the different kids had different word views. They all came from different backgrounds, and cultures. Where most of the kids grew up in a rough neighborhood in the projects to the white kid who was clueless to their culture. The teacher also had to change trying very hard to understand their world view because at first she really couldn’t relate. It was very cool because they all got to the point where they all had different cultures, but they all got along good.

            It also showed othering how the different ethnic groups would not accept each. They would jump each other, fight, steal, and just hated each other. At the end of the movie the one girl is a “traitor” when she tells the truth about a shooting that one of her friends did. So she finally did the right thing, and quit othering. They all towards the end were accepting of eachother.

            The movie also had a lot of racism in it. The best example would be the teacher’s dad. He was  very racist in the beginning, and told her not to waste her time or money on the kids. After he had helped her take them on some trips, and stuff he became very accepting. He saw that he had no reason to be racist. He learned that most of them were very nice respectable young adults.

            To conclude, I really enjoyed this movie, and think it had some very valuable lessons in it. It really drove home the points of world view, othering, and racism for me. We all need to be accepting of each other no matter what.  

Goals from class

I feel like I have reached my goals, and then some! My goals were to gain more knowledge about cultures especially Ethiopia. I have learned a lot about Ethiopia because I am doing it for my final project. I also have learned tons about other cultures thing ranging from language to LGBTQ. Most importantly I have learned to accept people that are different. Not to think any less of someone just because their culture is different. 

Cultural Article

                In my article it had a story of a man who resigned of the Boy Scouts board because he did not agree with one of the rules that they had. He did this after a lady was not allowed to be part of the organization because she was a lesbian. I think it shows good values for the man who is resigning because he believes that everyone should be treated equally. I am sure this topic has started some controversy in the area that this is taking place, and I’m sure the Boy Scouts are getting some heat for not treating the lady equally just because she was a lesbian.

Week 13

                On Tuesday we watched a video on transgender people. It started talking about a young boy Noah who acted, and pretty much thought he was a girl. He would dress up like girls, and dance. It was surprising to me that his mom said that people like him had a slim chance of living because of either suicide, or being killed. Like the one transgender lady who they talked to her boyfriend was beat to death with a bat in his sleep when people found out he was dating a transgender. The science behind transgender happens very early in pregnancy fork in the road, and some time the genitals will go one way, and the brain the opposite.  Also it was surprising to me how India had a very homosociety for men growing up. The boys growing up have very little contact with women or girls. Thailand to me was very different, but good in a way that they are very accepting of transgender people. I don’t know however if I like how they show of their transgender women in Bangkok.  

                On Thursday we had Russian Tea Cakes as our snack. I thought that they were very tasty and surprised they were a tradition in Mexican wedding cake. Then we talked with Ed the rest of the class. He was a very interesting person I thought. He has been through a lot I was surprised that he never had a point where he knew he was suppose to be a boy he always knew. I thought it was very cool how he had a lot of good friends for support, and especially his brothers helped him out. It was also interesting to me that he did not have to have voice lessons or anything it was just from his testosterone supplements. Talking to him really changed my view on transgender people he seemed very normal. I think some people think people do it for attention but talking to him it was very relevant that he was born to be a guy.  

Week 12

On Tuesday we started talking about how accessible places are for disabled people. Most places are getting better. Matt said the University of North Dakota was made very accessible, and Williston State is pretty good I think. However I thought it was crazy how you brought up that Matt would not survive in China. Nothing there is accessible for people with disabilities there are stairs everywhere. The thing that caught my attention the most was when you said that a lot of people there if they are beggars would mutilate their children so people would then in turn give them more money. This is something that I just cannot believe. We also talked about how everyone has disabilities or things that they are not good at, and every one becomes disabled sometime by the aging process. We also talked about learning disabilities. They are different because it is a harder to tell right away if someone has one. Also society sometimes just thinks these people are stupid. When really they just learn different ways, or learn different things better.

                On Thursday we had Mary from San Diego State talk to our class over skype. She was quite the character she talked to us about LGBTQ, or lesbian, gay, bi, tran, and queer. She talked about how her campus has done a lot to be supportive of lgbtq, and how they created safe zones which create a supportive environment for lgbtq.  I thought it was interesting because she believes she made the choice to be a lesbian that it was her choice she was not born that way. This is different then what you hear sometimes it seems to be a big debate on whether people are born lgbtq or they choose to be that way. She also said South Africa is the only country to consider lgbtq rights in their constitution and have same sex marriage. I thought it was really cool to meet Mary, and see that people that are lgbtq are normal people too.  

Fargo

Kolby, Kyla, and I all decided to watch the movie Fargo since Kolby would not stop talking about it. It was hilarious how deep the accents were. I had never heard you betcha, or darn tootin so much in my life. Probably the worst accent was the lady who was kidnapped from Minnesota it was so bad. Also the stereotype about hockey the grandpa was watching the Gophers. It was funny because before I had ever come to North Dakota that is how I figured people here talked because of all the media, and stereotypes. However it is not like that at all. Sure there are some differences how we say some things, and a little bit of an accent but nothing how the movie portrayed it. My favorite thing in the movie was when the man cop is talking to the lady cop for like three minutes, and all the lady cop ever says back is YA in a really high pitched voice like ten times.

Week 11

                On Tuesday one of the things we talked about was if Ebonics should be used in the classroom. We came to the conclusion that they should be allowed because it is part of someone’s culture. I also believe however that they should be encouraged to use or at least know how to use proper English as we would call it. This is because that is what they are going to be expected to use most likely when they go get real jobs or professions. We also talked a little bit about non verbal communication, and how a lot of it is unconscious. Talking about proxemies was funny to me how some cultures like Chinese where there is a lot more people they can be a lot closer to people without it them bothering them. Me personally would say I have a pretty big bubble. It could have something to do with growing up in a small town. We also talked about how the meaning is in the person not the word because connotation can be different. Because when you say a word everyone pictures something different.

                On Thursday we met with Matt Peterson. Some of his first advice was to not stare or ignore someone with a disability. The best advice he gave us I thought was begin with normal conversation and expect one back in return. Adjust if necessary. This means if you see someone with a disability talk to them how you would talk to anyone else, and if they need help communicating or have trouble adjust accordingly. Matt ofcourse had a lot of great stories that really helped to see what he goes through. It is amazing to me how great his attitude is and how he can make jokes about himself. Tonya also talked a little bit her story was very sad. I could see where it would be a lot harder for here how she used to be able to walk and was healthy. Another thing I thought was interesting was how they talked about how they tried to stay in shape because I hadn’t really thought of that.