Reflection Paper15

I think that the cause of homosexuality does not happen overnight and that it is most definitely not a disease but that it comes from birth. I think that the knowledge that a person is homosexual is deep within the brain at birth but as time goes by it surfaces because the brain has expanded. After reading the articles my views on homosexuality have not changes at all. I consider myself a very open person and things like homosexuality; bisexuality, etc do not bother me in the least. I have family and friends that are homosexuals and I cannot even imagine pushing them away because of something like that. It severely angers me that some people, despite how long they know a person, can treat them so differently the second they are aware that their friend is a homosexual. To me it shouldn’t matter what sexual orientation they are that person is still the same person they have known for however long. I don’t think that homosexuality develops from childhood upbringing because as children get older they will see and experience many different things and they will eventually develop an opinion of their own. Most people are homosexuals adopting children because they think that they will turn the child gay but as I previously stated as the children get older they formulate their own ideas. In most cases that I have seen the children remain heterosexual despite having parents that are homosexual. There are more cases of homosexual children with heterosexual parents than homosexual parents. Most people see homosexuals as a horrible thing some even going as far as resenting their friends, relatives, and even their own children. I think that because homosexuality comes from birth parents can see it in their child growing up and they try to change the child’s habits and behaviors. Homosexuality is seen as such a horrible and disgusting thing and those that are homosexual have more discrimination, hate, and so on than the issues or race. They are constantly targeted, even in the work place, even when applying for a job most interviewers notice their homosexuality, for those that are open with it, instead of credentials and experience.

Reflection Paper14

I think that a case can and should be made for charges of institutional racism; I think that just because you are from a certain background does not give you special privileges. Despite ethnic background we are all still people, we have the same organs the same types of functions, and so on and so on. If a law is to be made it should apply to everyone of every nationality, nowhere in laws made does it say that a certain nationality is excluded or has special rights. I honestly believe that the decisions of whether Cuban immigrants get asylum and Haitian immigrants do not is an inside matter and that those people are not following the law. Laws are made to be followed; they are not recommendations or requests, they are to be executed. What makes one race different from another? To me it is absolutely nothing just the color of their outside skin. Atomically we are all the same, even with color, if we bleed we all bleed red and we all have hearts and as I said before a law is meant for all people to follow. Also just because a country is less off than another does not mean that they deserve to be treated any differently than another race, I am pretty positive that no law anywhere says to give Cuban immigrants better treatment than Haitian immigrants. Matters like these should be addressed and corrected. I think that institutional racism is a big issue and there should be charges for doing so. Preferential treatment is not something that should be allowed at all let alone for the color or a person’s skin. If two different people commit the same criminal act, or whatnot, they should be handled exactly the same. I think that if one race sees the preferential treatment happening to another race that they would fight back. If the preferential treatment matter were to be addressed in a legal court system the person or persons who were issuing the favorable treatment would be the one/s in trouble. I think that charges for institutional racism should definitely be made into a case in order to prevent it from happening and to let perpetrators know that if they do give special treatment to one race that they will not be able to get away with it.

Reflection13

Race and racism are very strong things and have such a powerful effect on many different people. Race plays a part in our daily lives whether we realize it or not; people are judged based on their skin tone and ethnic background rather on their behavior and how they carry themselves. I learned that the workplace is the worse source of racism, in some institutions job positions are decided on by race. For example, in a construction site a Mexican American will be more likely to be hired than an Asian American because they will “work for less.” In my honest opinion the whole race option on any form or paper should not even be there especially for school testing. I think it is only there so that people can be put into a category and judged based on their race. Another example would be for a standardized test a child scores a high score on the test and before they even look at the race box they will assume it is an Asian or Indian child. Many people wouldn’t think that racist remarks hurt or affect other but it truly does. Most feel that they are being degraded and lose enthusiasm for things such as job hunting, and so on. Children could develop low self esteem because they are always being judged on their race rather than their performances. It hurts enormously when a child is left out of a game or conversation because of what they look like; they cannot help the way that they look or what their ethnical background is. In most cases I think that their hurt feelings develop into severe cases of depression, especially at young and tender ages. Those remarks or gestures will forever leave a scare on their hearts and I think will carry on to adult hood and will affect how they see other people as well as how they see themselves. It is completely wrong when someone says you should be able to run faster since you are black or you should know how to draw because you are European. It brings that persons spirits down and makes them think negatively about themselves and their race, I think it develops into self hatred in some cases because the comments that were said to that person had such a strong impact. To me, race has nothing to do with your abilities or your personality I think it is just a title of where your roots are.

Assignment1

The teacher I chose to do my hours under handled her diverse classroom very well. Every student that she had was treated respectfully just like any other student, no one was an exception to her. I especially liked how she handled her classroom discussions; she involved everyone in the group conversation and had them contribute something to the discussion. The feel of her classroom was very comforting and inviting, it felt homier than a classroom because everyone was engaged in the same activity and they were all coming together to answer things they didn’t understand. If a student made a racist remark or something similar she would immediately reprimand the student and have him or her apologize for the statement. Not only that, she would discuss for a moment why it was inappropriate and advise them never to do it again. I truly respect her teaching style and her classroom management in regards to how she handles each situation calmly and respectively. In Mrs. Pasqualine’s classroom there is no such thing as diversity, everyone is treated exactly the same and they are respected as young adults. If a student requires extra assistance she would help that student pertaining to whatever the child needs. She is always willing to take time before or after class to help a student with any problem they may have or she would suggest materials for the student/s to seek extra reference on. No one is excluded in assistance or classroom participation; everyone gets to voice their opinion or state ideas. Collaboration is always suggested and encouraged on assignments to give students a chance to bond with classmates as well as understand material better. Mrs. Pasqualine is also very active in collaborating with the students and respects every student’s need. She will never turn anyone away if they need help and says that if they are truly motivated to do something that she could not possibly turn them away. From observing her in the class room I can clearly see how and why all of her students respect her whole heartedly and always look forward to having a class session with her.

Quiz8

Quiz7

Reflection Paper12

The insights I have gained from reading the articles about genocide are that it does not take munch in order for something like this to happen. I think it happens when those in power let the authority go to their head and use their prejudice judgment to create things exactly like genocide. In Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur they all had political officials instigate the killings and it was all based on things such as looks or if they had even the slightest bit of different blood in them. They basically do the same thing in every case of genocide; kill mercilessly, rape the women of the groups, destroy homes, burn crops, etc. I honestly think that there has to be another way for people to work these differences out; that is what the government official is supposed to do. In this day and age I truly believe that we should be more focused on things such as world peace, hunger issues, etc rather than what someone looks like or where they are from. It just seems like we keep on moving further and further away from what life in the 21st century should be like and we are moving closer and closer to primitive times when Neanderthals did the exact same things to different tribes. No one can ever look the same; besides twins, so I think we have to move beyond this point, adults involved in starting genocide are acting like children on a playground who don’t want to play together. People come in multiple varieties and colors, it is impossible to escape that or do anything about it so it is about time we use our evolved craniums and get past these ridiculous quarrels. Killing mindlessly will not solve anything or get anyone anywhere; it is just a vicious cycle that will keep on repeating until everyone is dead. I think that everyone wants to live peacefully instead of dying before their natural time has come. Even if some don’t intend to they involve young children and their loved ones, I think if people understood better that everyone can work together and help each other out to make a better future that they would forget about wanting to kill someone because he or she is a bit different and just strive for a better life together.