6/30/23- 1619

 After listening to the 1619 Project, write a blog reflecting on two things:  1) the content/structure of the podcast and 2) your thoughts on using podcasts with students/youth as an educational tool.

    I remember first getting my iPod touch and seeing the podcast app. I had no clue what it was. I remember googling it and seeing the result: "A podcast is essentially a talk radio series on demand." Which then lead me to search the app to see if they had my favorite radio program, Giovanni and Kim in the Morning, 92 ProFM (spoiler alert, it didn't). That's when I realized these were something different. I didn't start listening to them regularly until a few years ago, and now they are all I listen to in the car, (unless I have Maxwell with me, then it is Spidey and His Amazing Friends Soundtrack on repeat).

    The 1619 used pauses, music, and story telling to educate it's audience on a topic that is not easy to talk about. Starting with the personal story of Uncle Eddie drew me in as a listener, had me immediately yelling "THIS IS WHY WE NEED UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE," and wanting to know more about the topic of the episode. Within the story telling in the first eight minutes, there were moments where Nikole Hannah-Jones paused after moments of joy and sorrow to let us as the listeners absorb the impact of her relationship with her uncle. Under the moments of despair and love, a soft melody played in the background, as if it was telling the listener "hey, pay attention here!"

    The podcast continued these moments of pausing in between to let the listeners pick up on the severity of the content matter, the impact of the decisions that the American Health Association made, and the discrimination and unjust treatment towards black people in the health care industry. This podcast taught me about the transition of the emancipation of slaves and the lack of support they received to transition into society.

    I think podcasts can be a very engaging way to teach content. However there are some limitations. I am a 1st grade ESL teacher and many of my emergent bilingual learners are newcomers with limited english proficiency. I think listening to a long podcast would be asking for chaos in a classroom full of littles and would have to be tailored, chunked, and extra engaging. Also, this can be an isolating activity for students who do not speak english. I think creating a podcast would be an amazing and engaging project for older students. I can imagine upper elementary to high school age students having to find people to interview and using different programs to edit and add some of the structures that are common in podcasts.

6/27- Disney

 What is your relationship to Disney culture?  How does Christiansen validate or challenge your views?

    
    I was a Disney princess kid. I grew up obsessed with The Little Mermaid, practicing my Ariel hair flip in the pool and refusing to separate my legs to mimic a mermaid tail. Once I got older, I realized the negative message the princess trope was telling vulnerable children, even still, Ariel had a special place in my heart Although if you ask me what my favorite Disney movie is now I will say Hercules- can you even listen to the soundtrack without singing along? Even as I type this and listen to Zero to Hero playing in my head, I am struggling to support it. While this movie is based on greek mythology and the story of Hercules, it tells little boys that you are nothing without a chiseled chest and strong arms and little girls that they need a man, a godly man, to save them.    

 Christiansen validated my views. I have come from a place where I can critique but also still find pleasure in Disney. I recognize the problem that the princess stereotype portrays but cannot escape the nostalgia that Disney provides. I find my self trying to counteract and balance what Christiansen says:

    "But what am I teaching them if the lesson ends there? That it is enough to be critical without taking    action? That we can quietly rebel in the privacy of the classroom while we practice our writing skills but we don't really have to do anything about the problems we uncover, nor do we need to create anything to take the place of what we've expelled? Those are not the lessons I intend to teach" (2016, p. 183). 

 It is important to recognize the problematic features of Disney media. As a parent, I work hard to teach my son important values and to try to reverse the effect that current, stereotypical media can have on him. I know that we will never fully be able to protect him from some of the toxic masculinity. I make sure he has access to well rounded examples and models in his immediate environment. 

He picked this dress out himself while searching for some new summer clothes at Target.

Letting go of gender stereotypes, see what I did there?

 

    I know Disney has come a long way from the classic tales that were so harmful in the past, but I also know it has a much longer way to go. After these readings, I learned that it is okay to be mad at Disney and to understand it does not promote the values of feminism and other harsh racial stereotypes, but I feel as long as you take action to course correct, it is okay to belt out with Meg as she realizes she is in love with Hercules. In accordance with Christiansen, we need to recognize harmful stereotypes in popular media and take action to course correct the negative impact they have. 

From our trip to Disneyland in August '22

*** As I was reading and preparing for tomorrow,  two more recent pop-culture moments spoke to me. One is a song that was popular on tik-tok and the other is a portion of a TedTalk that was made popular by Beyonce's song, Flawless. I wanted to share them here! Enjoy! 

(warning: may contain explicit language)

6/26 Post: Boyd and Prensky

What do you make of the (divergent) positions of Boyd and Prensky?  Where do you stand on the “digital native” terminology?

    In the school setting, you often find teachers who are able to seamlessly intertwine technology into the classroom, no matter the age of the students, or you have teachers who are so incredibly against it that they refuse to use the doc camera in the corner that may be just missing a cord to be functional. My own experience with technology in the classroom fluctuates. I started my career at a new charter school in Providence, Rhode Island. It was in a state of the art building where each classroom was equipped with smart boards. Three years later, the classrooms were then remodeled and we were equipped with even newer Smart-Boards. Many of my lessons were created digitally and while simultaneously teaching students on zoom and in person during the height of the Pandemic, I was able to navigate sharing screens, doc cameras, and creating digital lessons that were accessible to students in the classroom and at home. When I started in my current setting, I was fortunate enough to receive a new magnetic whiteboard. and my lessons are often delivered in paper and pencil.

    The term "digitally native" makes sense when you think of it at the most simple form: growing up fully immersed in the current technology. I agree with Boyd when she states that it is dangerous to continue the rhetoric. Boyd states "a focus on today's youth as digital natives presumes that all we as a society need to do is be patient and wait for a generation of these digital wunderkinds to grow up" (Boyd, 2014 p. 197). Technology has become something that is very polarizing. I remember my Nana constantly making comments about the use of our phones, my brother's use of iPads, or relying on a computer to complete school work. being "digitally native" divided my Nana from my siblings and I, the reliance on technology was something she would never fully understand. As technology evolved around her, we gifted her iPhones, iPads, and digital cameral printers.

     I remember that she would always cite the reason why she couldn't text on her phone was because my sister or I didn't teach her how. The saying "you can't teach old dogs new tricks" comes to mind. We are stuck in a fixed mindset where we think the "digital immigrants" will never be able to reach competency that the "digital natives" reach.

About me!

My name is Allison, I am a first grade teacher in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. I was on an extended maternity leave since December so I am eager to get back into the classroom this fall! 

My summer is going great! I love spending time with my two little boys, Maxwell and Arthur. The current soundtrack to my summer is the theme song to Spidey and His Amazing Friends (thanks to my three year old).  When I am not in class, I am spending time with my family, watching reality TV, and completing Hashi puzzles. 

Arthur is 6 months old today! 

We love looking at belugas at Mystic! 

Ralphie- Cavachon, 6 years old 
Beans- Puggle, 3 years old