"Making Whiteness Visible"

The movie that was shown in the LBJ teaching theater give me some sort of hope. "Making Whiteness Visible" was about white people being hurt by racism against races other than white. For example, a man in the movie had a step father who he loved greatly, but who happened to be black. And he had to live his life realizing that he was treated differently while with his step father. It hurt him deeply that people could not accept him having a black father. The movie and discussion afterward seemed to allow people to express their feelings and experiences with racism. It seems like although people are more open than they used to be about different races and people that look and act differently than them, there is still racism out there that needs to be fought. The issue of racism does not just affect those that take the ridicule, it also hurts those people that want to help to stop it but don't know how. That was a big issue in the movie, that white people wanted to help to end racism but couldn't figure out how.
Also, there was an underlying issue that a few audience members pointed out. That the movie was seen differently from different people. A white man stood up and explained that the movie he saw was vastly different that the movie a black women saw. Depending on your experiences, the movie affected you in different ways. This movie opened my eyes to the work that still needs to be done to end racism.

Religion in my past

When I growing up, my large family with 5 children would go to a Presbyterian church every week. We grew up thinking going to church was just something you did on Sundays because that was how it was. But as soon the oldest of us, my brother, was able to drive, my mom stopped going and then just us kids continued. We began to become very involved in the church as being kids and loved it. But as we began to grow into teenagers, we slowly began to be criticized about everything we did, if we missed a Sunday, anything. So, slowly, we started not going as much. Although, I always believed in God, the act of going to church just seemed unnecessary to me. I began to believe in God and that I was a christian, but did not believe in going to church and paying money "to God". Then, when people started noticing me and my siblings not going to church, somehow that made us non christian and not right.
We never really understood why people that used to treat us like true friends started treating us like there was something wrong with our hearts and we had been somehow corrupted by our mother that stopping going many years ago. Relieving this, i almost became mad, but i had to realize that this is how some people think and I was just going to have to live with it.

"Gus on the Front Porch"

In this picture, it shows Gus, obviously taking a break from his ramblings and relaxing on the porch. Probably watching children play in the yard in front of him, giving him that subtle smile on his face. His is scruffy faced, as usual, and wearing his white cowboys hat. His suspenders over his white shirt holding up his kaki pants over his old dirty cowboy boots with spurs on the backs. Leaned forward with his hands clasped, he is very interested in whatever is going on in front of him. Beside his right foot, there is a large whiskey bottle, showing that he is just relaxing on the porch. On the other side of him there is a stool for someone else to sit with Gus. The building he is sitting by you can tell is very old with the cracks in the wall and old wood floors with spaces in between the pieces of wood a small child's hand could fit in and get stuck. Through the open door next to Gus, you can see inside there is an old wooden chair facing the back of the room with a stripped blanket laying on the back of the chair. Gus fits in perfectly in this scene with his old whithered self taking a break by this old withered house.

The Most Beautiful: A Simple Simle

Sarah Miller
Micah Robbins
Eng. 1310.126
1 September 2007
The Most Beautiful: A Simple Simile
What is beauty? We have decided that beauty is completely subjective. But there are many things a person can find beautiful to ask a person to decide what in this world is worthy to be deemed “most beautiful” is almost impossible, but it can be done if you use your imagination. Even the simplest things that are put out on display for the world to see can and do get taken for granted. Like, for example, something as simple as a simile. What could be more beautiful than a person who is genuinely and completely, without hesitation, joyously happy?
If you were to ever go outside and just sit down somewhere, maybe at a town square or a busy area, you will see many people walking by you that do not even notice your presence. Some will glance and acknowledge you, but that is it—just a glance, nothing more. And on rare occasion, someone will walk by you, notice you, and give you a polite smile. It seems like people tend to be more attractive when they smile. I tend to remember them more than if they didn’t, and if only for s slight second, I feel somehow connected to that random person, just through a smile. The simplest and easiest act any person can do at any given time is smile.
Smiles are universal; there are no boundaries when it comes to a smile. Everyone knows that, when smile at, you are receiving something warm that cannot always be explained, but it is there nonetheless, and whoever receives this simple gift of caring and gratitude has an innate sense that they are not alone.
Yes, the earth and the skies and many, many material possessions one can have are beautiful, but to say that they are more beautiful than the most simple gift and the most heartwarming act anyone can give would have to be, in my opinion, slightly overrated. Everything, if you look hard enough, has beauty in it and the potential to be the most beautiful thing to any one person in the world.
There are things in this world that just do not have material value. They have something so much more: they have a value that sits somewhere deep within your soul that when you see or feel this thing, it hits that spot. I believe that a smile has the potential to achieve that goal with every single human being (not to mention animals) on this earth. Maybe someone thinks that a smile can be intimidating and, for some reason, unapproachable, but I just cannot see that point of view. The most beautiful thing on this earth, even more beautiful than the amazing views of Victoria Falls, is the almost effortless act of smiling at one another.

The Spirit of Education?

In Norman Rockwell's painting, The Spirit of Educatioin, it shows a young boy, dressed similarly to the Statue of Liberty. With a women sitting down behind him, making sure he is presentable to the rest of the world. She has obviously dressed him up to be whatever she wants him to be. This is very representative of education today. The adult, making sure the child looks exactly how they would like them to look, totally disregarding the child's true feelings. Like in this painting, the boy obviously doesn't want to be there, and is not happy about what he is having to do, but in American society, children don't have an opinion to speak of, at least in adults eyes. It doesn't matter what the child wants, they must conform to whatever elders want them to be, regardless of what the student wants.
The banner around the boy shows what we think of education. Forcing students to be what we want them to be. Even though in this painting, it doesnt seem natual for this young boy to be dressed like the Statue of Liberty, it makes sence becuase there is a women behind him making him do so.
Also, the fact that the women is sitting down shows something else entirely. It shows how American society wants everything to be their way, and will do something about what they want, but then will just expect the children to do exactly what they want them to do, without actually getting up and doing it themselves.
Norman Rockwell makes perfect sence when painting this image. He shows all the problems with education with that certian satire that grabs peoples attention.

Educational hiccup

It is pretty obvious to all of us that education in America needs alot of work. Having teachers teach subjects they are not educated on teaching is one of the biggest mistakes schools of today are making. How is it possible for children to learn effectively if the one guiding them does not even know what they are talking about? But then again, it is rediculous to blame the teachers for the mistakes of a school board. How could we possibly fix this problem? Train more teachers? Well people aren't excatly lining up to be teachers nowadays. I, myself, am. And hopefully, my small contribution will help kids actually learn and absorb some quality information to make them better leaders for tomorrow. Even with all the hell from school officials and horrible pay, like in "Stand and Deliver"I am going to go through to get there.
I know that we live in a time when race shouldn't be an issue, but obviously, it still is when it comes to the education of America's children. It's not like it happens on purpose, or maybe it does, but for the majority, at least from what I've seen, schools tend to be more predominantly one race. I think that is not because they are pressured to go to a school with poeple of the same race, but that people naturally tend to cling to people that they can familiarize temselves with, just look around campus and you'll see for yourself. In "Still Seperate, Still Unequal", Kozol continuosly names the statisics of school without funding for predominantly black school, and although I am not discounting his information, is it really possible that nowhere in the United States there is a school that is predominantly white and poor? I personally do not know, but it seems to me that it is at least worth questioning. So if there are school mostly full of whites, and needs a great deal of funding, then why aren't they getting any publicity like the schools from Kolzol's writings do?
Never the less, funding for our future leading has completely gone down the drain, and that is in no way acceptable. Our big important officials that make all the rules about how badly we stunt children should go take an ethics class and learn a few things. Maybe thats the problem, people are so consumed by what they are doing that they really honestly don't care about the rest of the world and the future of it. Just as long as they are getting paid to act like they do, everything is gravy, for them anyway. But it won't be for long.

A Night Out

Most high school student are always thinking up ways to get out of school, to skip and not get caught, which I did my fair share of, but the night me and my friends snuck into the school, was by far the most memorable. We ran around the football field, found an open door and ran around inside, we didnt damage anything, but just to be able to do that was somehow liberating.

Throughout high school all I could think was how horrible this place was, but that night, sneaking back into school made me realize that an institution like that was good, full of memories, my memories. It made me realize that i could go to college and experience the same things. Now I doubt I'll sneak into one of the buildings on campus and run around in it and have some uplifting experience, but I will not take for granted the memories and the friends I will make here.