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Chris McKay
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:30 pm Posts: 40
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How will justice in the courts ever be colorblind? Are we as a country making any progress in this area? Emmett Till's family never got justice for the murder of Emmett back in 1955. Caroline Bryant, the young white woman, who got whistled at that day still lives today knowing that her story led to his death. As I was researching this issue, I found this:
In 2006, five white teenagers—Justin Ashley Phillips, 18; Kenneth Eugene Miller Jr., 18; Lucas Grice, 17; Christopher Scott Cates, 17; and Jerry Christopher Toney, 18—were given various sentences for the second degree lynching of Isaiah Clyburn, 17, a young black man in South Carolina. South Carolina law defies second degree lynching as "[a]ny act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body of another person and from which death does not result shall constitute the crime of lynching in the second degree and shall be a felony. Any person found guilty of lynching in the second degree shall be confined at hard labor in the State Penitentiary for a term not exceeding twenty years nor less than three years, at the discretion of the presiding judge."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_i ... ted_States
Unfortunately some states in the union need to change their laws about lynching since some of their laws are still lenient. We have a ways to go before justice is colorblind.
_________________ Chris McKay
"Our progress as a nation can be no swifter
than our progress in education." -JFK
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Sun Mar 25, 2007 10:52 pm |
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Amy Scronce
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:29 pm Posts: 47
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Chris, I too am in amazement that this type of "activity" still happens. It is appauling that we can not live together and accept eachother for who we are and that we actually see people as being a different color or shun them for being a different religion. Until the day comes that we are all seen as equals, whether it be color, class, or religious reasons, that individually (as Dr Turner says)we can make a small dent in our own schools as administrative leaders.
_________________ Amy Scronce
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Mon Mar 26, 2007 11:50 am |
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Tim Hoffman
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:37 pm Posts: 51
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Amy,
I hope for a world as you speak. It does seem like it is getting better with each generation. I can still remember my grandfather stating that he "actually talked to a black person". This was a positive step for him and with time I hope that each generation is more accepting of diversity whether it is in race, color and now sexual orientation.
Chris,
Thanks for bringing that story to my attention. We need to know that our past still haunts our future. I hope that someday we as a society can move past this type of action.
_________________ Tim Hoffman
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Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:11 pm |
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Rosanna Whisnant
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:29 pm Posts: 46
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When I was five, we moved to a new town and I began attending a half day Kindergarten program. My best friend was a beautiful brown eyed girl with a golden brown complection. I longed to have beautiful "tan" skin like hers. It was not until the end of the school year that an older child asked me why I always play with the "little black girl". I didn't even know who he meant. I had not had the experience in my earlier years of black children and did not recognize this child as anyone except a child. The way he spoke to me made me feel as if I had done something wrong and I felt a sense of shame.
Reflecting on this experience just proves to me that our beliefs are learned from others. What I learned from a prejudiced child that day was that I should discriminate between lighter skin and dark skin children. This seemingly "small" moment in time changed my life forever. Why are we still "grouping" people in data reports, census standings etc? When will we just be human?
_________________ Rosanna Whisnant
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Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:48 am |
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Leigh Anne Frye
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:28 pm Posts: 44
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Rosanna,
I would say tormorrow is not soon enough...in response to your question...but I don't see that happening ANYTIME soon...
_________________ Leigh Anne Frye
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Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:22 pm |
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Logan McGuire
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:30 pm Posts: 32
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What does everyone think of the NCLB subgroups being partially based on race and ethnicity? I know the idea is to raise the level of performance across the board, but do you think racial identification of lagging scores will eventually lead to improved performance?
_________________ Logan McGuire
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Wed Apr 04, 2007 2:09 pm |
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Jackie Shaw
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:31 pm Posts: 68
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Logan,
I think this is a way to target the students who have been identified across the state as low performing. Because some schools seem to accept failure for these students as an expectation, then a higher authority has to come in and say"no way." All children should be able to learn. Sadly, I have seen teachers who excuse poor teaching practices with statements like "What do you expect? I can't get them to learn because they are typical of that group." I think that what has happened is the state has stepped in where school leaders should have been a long time ago. They are holding us all accountable for teaching. Their method needs improvement, but the benefit to those groups has been remarkable.
_________________ Jackie Shaw
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Wed Apr 04, 2007 6:22 pm |
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Kathryn Brown
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:32 pm Posts: 67 Location: Kernersville Middle School
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As long as there are disparities, then subgroups are necessary so that we can use strengths to meet weaknesses. Remember our cultural lessons of different groups learning differently? If I could get more activity and stronger in making cheers of sorts to help students memorize then maybe I could do more to close gaps.
What would our NCLB report look like if it were not ethnicity based? Would it then involve subgroups such as: Sports-minded? Timid? No-noise-to-make group (for "wallflowers" who are too quiet in the back of the classroom)? Boys? Girls? Those requiring manipulatives? Linguistics who cannot see spatially?
What if we just "regrouped" by teacher strengths? And assigned students who learned from teaching styles?
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Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:47 pm |
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John Robinson
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Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:29 pm Posts: 125
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NCLB will fail because it does not address what is fundamentally wrong with American society. There are inequities and these need to addressed in society at large. Provding adequate housing, healthcare, and adequate living wages would do more to boost student performance than all the test in the world.
_________________ "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." M. Twain
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Sun Apr 08, 2007 10:25 pm |
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Jackie Shaw
All-star
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:31 pm Posts: 68
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John,
You are right. Tests don't change the way a child performs on said test. People change the way a child experiences success and love. When students have a sense of self-worth that is reinforced by caring adults, not crack sellers, gangs, and pimps, these students can learn; therefore, they can perform better on tests. I think educators may have spent too much time looking for the magic wand for teaching when they should have been looking for the magic wand for loving.
_________________ Jackie Shaw
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Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:14 am |
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