Alie's Spot

As future English teachers, most of us will jump to "bring in inclusive/diverse text". After all, we often look for fictional characters and worlds to grasp to. Being white, I do not have to try very hard. Surely, introducing diverse text is a wonderful idea, but tends to be the "I did it, I checked the culture box". What Zaretta Hammond is getting at goes far deeper than inclusive texts. It's the individual and the sociology that surrounds culture. How does our culture influence us cognitively and socially? According to Hammond, there are three different levels of culture that triggers different emotional charges; surface, shallow, and deep. When we think of culture, we often think of surface, but it is the deep level we should be focusing on. The deep level heavily influences "how the brain makes sense of the world and helps us function in our enviorment" (Hammond 77). As an educator, I have this responsibility to educate my students, but also to con...

            "When you have something that was           never designed for you, that wasn’t designed for your body to fit it, your spirit, your history. It wasn’t designed for your identities, it’s not going to fit" -Gholdy Muhammad    Black students enter an education system never meant to lift them, but instead restrain them. The classroom fails to teach black students skills, tools, concepts that connect to their identity. You may teach about racism and equality, but if you do not teach your students how to actively question and critique the system, what are you doing? If we want our students to be armed to fight an oppressive system, we have to water all areas of growth.  Gholdy Muhammad's largest issue with the educational system is just this. We are teaching black students in a system that is " set by Europe and Euro-centricity and whiteness from the earlier days of The New England Primer" (Muhammad). It is...

  Towards the end of the documentary, Dr. Paul Weiss questioned Baldwin's mention of race. Why is it always race? Why is race always brought up? The white man's solution to racism...color blindness. It ignores the issues within our country and the emphasis society puts on race. There are two clear and distinctive American experiences here. For the longest time, I was defensive on the basis of race. Not because I refused to acknowledge the African American experience or the racist history, but because at times it almost felt like a personal attack. I felt I was grouped with other white people who I do not identify with...who do not possess a similar mindset to I. Who are you to assume who I am based on my race when the whole reason we are here is to discuss racial discrimination? I considered myself pro-active in speaking against racial inequality. I never denied Black history. I believed I was doing right. While I believe at times people can be unfairly aggressive in situation...

For quite some time, the parks within Warwick were free and open to all. They offered a place of community building, leisure, activity, and quality time with family and friends. Until recently the city started to charge $5.00 per vehicle to enter or $20 for a season pass. Out-of-towners must pay $40 for a season pass. One could argue that $20 is not a lot, but it boils down to a class/economic issue. What may be someone's leisure money could be another's bill money. Never underestimate the amount of money because circumstances are unique.  (Oakland Beach. Photo credit .) The argument for charging fees is that it allows Warwick residents to enjoy the parks without 'out-of-towners' overcrowding them. The fees allow for park management and cleanup.  Charging for city parks is absurd because it limits who can use them and how often. It limits many of the benefits of city parks. City parks are cherished for community building and creating a safe spot for quality time. These...